Army Looks at Upgrades to M4A1 Carbine

This morning, we published a piece by Matthew Cox on the new upgrades the Army is looking at for the M4A1 to include performance, accuracy and even color.

What's that? You also noticed the Army just ended its M4 Product Improvement Program by choosing to go with the M4A1 that U.S. Special Operations Command was already issuing to operators.

So there is some speculation about what this latest effort will yield but the Army has said it wants to survey what the small arms industry has to offer as far as better rails, triggers, charging handles and sights for the M4A1, Cox wrote.

Here's a snippet of the article:

The M4A1+ effort will look for add-on components that will "seamlessly integrate with the current M4A1 Carbine ... without negatively impacting or affecting the performance or operation of the M4A1 weapon," the document states.

All M4A1+ components will need to be compatible with current M4A1 ancillary equipment such as optics, aiming/pointing devices, training devices, slings and rail covers.

One of the upgrades is an improved extended forward rail that will "provide for a hand guard allowing for a free-floated barrel" for improved accuracy, according to the document.

The improved rail will also have to include a low-profile gas block that could spell the end of the M16/M4 design's traditional gas block and triangular fixed front sight.